messaging

Smartphones caused a major shift in how we communicate, and sacrificing unified messaging was the cost of getting there.
Not all that long ago, I was a 'Linux-or-bust' kind of user. I had everything I needed, and one of those things was a unified messaging client. For me, that app was Pidgin. I loved Pidgin because it worked, and I never had any problems with it. The app wasn't exactly feature...

There are plenty of ways to keep in touch. What's your favorite?
A look through Google Play will quickly tell you that there literally hundreds and hundreds of different messaging apps and platforms to use on your Android. Each has their pros and cons, but a handful garner all the attention — and most of the users.

Don't like the IM app on your phone? Check out these replacements!
So maybe the standard messaging app that came on your phone isn't the best. You may think it's a bit clunky or doesn't pack a lot of punch when it comes to features. Luckily, we can replace those with other messaging apps. Most of them will bring some different design elements to the table, as well as additional functionality...

There's a new app, maybe you've heard of it, yo. No, seriously, that's the name of the app, Yo. As in, "Yo dawg." Yo does one thing, and one thing only: it sends a contact a notification of "Yo." No message attached to that, no images, no context, just "Yo from RENERITCHIE". It took eight hours to code, and yet somehow it's sweeping the globe in monosyllabic fashion, and even more inexplicably...

Sicher, a new "super-safe" messenger has arrived today on Windows Phone, iPhone and Android devices. Sicher (pronounced "Zee-her") comes from the team behind IM+ and brings free, encrypted chats and file transfers to users. Using the app, you'll be able to chat, send files, photos and voice messages to other users. Sicher goes so far as to not show incoming messages on your lock screen (only an...

As Facebook is trying to take on the ephemeral messaging model with Slingshot, rival Snapchat is trying to become more social and public with a new 'Our Story' feature. Seems like quite the reversal of course for both social networking heavyweights, but Snapchat is adding the Our Story feature to its self-destructing messages model for a more public and group sharing experience.

The Unicode standard has been updated to add an additional 2,834 new characters, which includes about 250 pictographic symbols, or emoji. This expanded list of new symbols could help to add personality to messaging, such as SMS and MMS, Apple's iMessage, BlackBerry's BBM, Google's Hangouts, and other services.

Hangouts is receiving a small update today, and while the changelog hasn't been updated on the Play Store just yet there are a few small differences we're noticing. First up is a new "hidden contacts" area of the settings separate from the "blocked people," giving you a way to hide folks from your contact listing but not block their messages completely. Individual chats can now have different...

Self-destructing photo-sharer Snapchat has been updated today with a couple of major new features. Previously you'd have to take a photo if you wanted to send any kind of message through the service — now text chat is accessible by swiping right from the main camera view, then swiping again on the person you want to chat with. As you might expect, message history is wiped when you swipe away...

Messaging without the internet
FireChat found its way from iOS to Android today, offering an interesting, decentralized way of instant messaging. FireChat plugs into a kind of mesh network, where mobile devices connect to one another over Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth, and not requiring any outside involvement on the internet. Obviously the range on this is limited, but at least it works when you...

If you happen to be on one of AT&T's Mobile Share plans and have friends, relatives, acquaintances, coworkers, or just people you want to message with that happen to live outside of the United States, then we've got good news: AT&T is making international messaging free on February 28th.
In addition to the free messaging, AT&T is rolling out reduced international calling rates. The...

Direct messages from strangers require extra step before receiving
Following a general rumble of expectation for weeks, Instagram has just launched its own private messaging service. With the latest update to version 5 of the app, you can now send images and videos directly to individuals and groups rather than your entire follower base.
You'll be able to select where your image goes — to "...

Option to send group messages to individual recipients also included
Hangouts is making the subtle jump to version 2.0.2, bringing fixes for the way the messaging app handles MMS. Although the issues haven't necessarily been widespread, many who have updated to the latest Hangouts and began using it for text messaging have been running into issues sending and receiving MMS. While this update...

Popular messaging service Imo added a new feature today that helps friends meet up. The feature is called "People Near Me," and while the idea may not be new to the group messaging space its an important addition to a popular app. When you open the People Near Me page, you'll see other users with the app open to that page in a specific (although unknown) radius based on your GPS location.
The...

Making it easier to find the people you want to converse with most
Along with notable updates to Gmail and Google Voice, Hangouts is receiving a bump to version 1.2 to add new features. The latest update makes it drastically easier to see who is online and available for chat and who is not, with green chat bubbles indicating online and grey ones indicating offline. When you're browsing through...

Another way to show off your 6-second video skills.
The group messaging app space is full of great choices, but GIF Chat is trying to get in on the craze with its own set of features. Walking the line between apps like Snapchat which only do short video clips and fully-featured voice, video and text chat apps like Viber, GIF Chat offers group chatting with up to 6-second looping video as well...

Messaging service WhatsApp has updated its mobile apps with support for one-press voice messaging. The new feature, activated by holding down the microphone icon, allows short message clips to be recorded and exchanged as part of a conversation through the instant messaging service.
Effectively a touchscreen-based push-to-talk feature, the new voice messaging button in WhatsApp records when it's...

Google's new cross-platform group messaging service is pushing out to devices
Hangouts, the long-rumored messaging service from Google that pulls together text, photo, video and group chat all into one service, is pushing out in the Play Store today as an update to the Google Talk app. The app is a serious departure from the old-school design found on talk, with an all new layout that...

Much rumored service becomes official, available today for Android, iOS and the web
Messaging has been one of the hot topics leading up to Google I/O, and today Vic Gundotra took to the stage and introduced the all new Google+ Hangouts. A cross-platform messaging service available starting today for Android, iOS and the web.
We'll be taking a closer look at Hangouts once the dust settles, but...

Seamlessly continue conversations, calls and video chats from mobile to desktop
Popular cross-platform messaging and VOIP service Viber is introducing brand new desktop apps along with a complete refresh of its mobile apps today. First up are the desktop apps, which are now available for both Windows and Mac and give users the ability to continue all of their VIber conversations and...